KRG blames unlawful groups for Sinjar accord failure

Shafaq News – Erbil

Five years after Baghdad and Erbil signed an agreement to stabilize Sinjar, the Kurdish Ministry of Interior said that its implementation remains stalled, leaving displaced residents unable to return home.

In a statement, the ministry emphasized that the 2020 accord aimed to stabilize Sinjar, rebuild trust, and create conditions for displaced Yazidis and other residents to return. However, groups "operating outside official channels, acting above the law," continue to obstruct progress, leaving the district mired in uncertainty.

The ministry pledged to persist in efforts to secure safe returns for Sinjar’s original population, holding those obstructing the agreement accountable for the ongoing instability.

Sinjar fell to ISIS in 2014, when the group carried out a massacre against local residents. Peshmerga forces, the Kurdish Regional military, reclaimed the area the following year.

The Iraqi army, backed by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), later assumed control amid tensions between Baghdad and the KRG following the 2017 independence referendum. On October 9, 2020, Baghdad and Erbil reached an agreement to jointly manage Sinjar’s administration, security, and public services—a framework designed to stabilize the district and enable the return of displaced residents.